MCN Direct Newswire

Vol. 2 No. 38, 13 October 2003

This issue is sponsored by:

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This issue news

1. SchlumbergerSema wins first contract in NHS IT overhaul
2. Anite chooses new boss
3. Charteris falls into the red
4. Capita denies poor performance claim
5. IT consultant stirs Tory conference
6. Further information - feedback/forward to a colleague/unsubscribe

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1. SCHLUMBERGERSEMA WINS FIRST CONTRACT IN NHS IT OVERHAUL

SchlumbergerSema has secured a $107 million, five-year deal to design and manage the National Health Service's electronic bookings service - the first key contract to be awarded within the NHS' planned $4.7 billion IT overhaul.

SchlumbergerSema will work with US healthcare software specialist Cerner to deliver the initial phase of the project next summer. This will provide the first electronic bookings before a national booking programme is up and running by the end of 2005.

The contract is one of four core development projects to be awarded under the NHS' National Programme for IT (NPfIT). It could be extended and includes options for other services to be provided.

All told, 47 UK and international companies expressed initial interest in the work, but a structured selection process cut the final shortlist to SchlumbergerSema, EDS and Fujitsu. EDS was then rejected, leaving SchlumbergerSema and Fujitsu in contention until the final decision was reached.

NHS IT director general Richard Granger said: "The procurement exercise, which commenced in January this year, has resulted in the appointment of a world-class team. I am particularly pleased that the arrangements under which the service will be delivered provide significant protection to the NHS with regard to delivery and performance."

According to Granger, the NHS will not pay for the system until it is built and working, while a new incentive will allow SchlumbergerSema to earn back penalty payments for poor service delivery by later providing service levels in excess of contract agreements.

Other core development contracts still to be awarded within the NPfIT cover a service for the electronic transmission of prescriptions, an integrated care records service and an underpinning IT infrastructure.

2. ANITE CHOOSES NEW BOSS

Anite has named former PeopleSoft senior vice president Steve Rowley as its new chief executive tasked to lead the group back to profitability.

Rowley joins the IT solutions and services company next month. He replaces John Hawkins, who was ousted from Anite last May (MCN Direct 2-20) and has recently reappeared as non-executive chairman of The Salamander Organisation (MCN Direct 2-37).

David Thorpe, Anite's interim chief executive, will support Rowley during a hand-over period and then revert to being a non-executive director of the group.

Anite chairman Alec Daly said: "Our priority was to find a chief executive with the right skill set for this stage of Anite's development. Together with his extensive international management experience, we believe Steve to be the ideal candidate. His priority is to complete our consolidation within the business and provide the leadership and focus on customers to build the business."

Daly signalled the appointment of the new CEO last month, when he told Anite's AGM that the company was expecting to return to profitability in the financial year to April 2004 (MCN Direct 2-36).

Rowley's most recent role was as senior vice president and general manager of PeopleSoft Europe. His CV also includes postings at 3 Com, BT Cellnet, Hitachi Trading Company UK and IBM UK. He started his career at Hewlett-Packard after graduating from Loughborough University.

3. CHARTERIS FALLS INTO THE RED

Business and IT management consultancy Charteris has recorded its first financial loss since it was set up six years ago.

The company made a pre-tax loss of $1 million in the year to 31 July, reversing a pre-tax profit of $2.7 million in the previous financial year. Full-year revenues fell 36% to $20.1 million.

Despite the collapse, Charteris chairman David Mann remained optimistic, saying the market is beginning to show signs of improvement although recovery is expected to be gradual. He attributed the loss to sales opportunities that "had not developed as planned" and the extended time taken to convert prospects into orders.

In line with a three-year strategy to return the company to strong growth, Mann said Charteris' diversification beyond the financial services sector into the retail and public sectors was proving effective, with retail business up 17% in the year and public sector growth of 115% - albeit from a small base.

Backing up these claims, Charteris pointed to a new contract worth $3.8 million with KCI International, a global manufacturer of medical devices. Charteris will implement an ERP solution that it has developed for KCI over the past year across 15 country operations.

In the public sector, it has been chosen by the Office of Government Commerce to join the S-Cat services catalogue, giving it greater access to the government market.

Looking forward, Mann said: "At the end of the financial year, Charteris had a sales pipeline that was stronger and more broadly based than at any time during the financial year. We currently see good prospects for the company to achieve some year-on-year growth in revenue in the financial year 2003/04."

4. CAPITA DENIES POOR PERFORMANCE CLAIM

Capita has rejected suggestions that it has been fined for poor performance on the $383 million, five-year London congestion charging scheme.

Budget documents just released by the London Assembly show a $1.7 million penalty for unspecified "liquidated damages and service credits" - a sum equivalent to about 14% of the average annual profit Capita expects to derive from the project.

Hitting back at national press allegations that it had been fined, Capita stated: "To claim that Capita has been fined is both inaccurate and misleading. Capita did have some financial penalties, as is normal in any contract, but these formed a tiny percent of the potential penalties. Financial penalties and additional payments form a routine part of any contract. This is old non-news."

According to Transport for London, which runs the congestion charging scheme, the penalty was not to do with the actual congestion charging service, but was made when Capita failed to meet requirements for the provision of management information after the scheme went live in February.

The scheme's performance indicators were changed in August when the contract was renegotiated, adding a further $52 million of potential revenue for Capita, while any failure to meet service level agreements is dealt with through the withholding of payments rather than subsequent penalty paybacks by Capita.

5. IT CONSULTANT STIRS TORY CONFERENCE

IT consultant Tim Metcalfe received rapturous applause from the Conservative Party conference audience last week when he called for paedophiles to be castrated and the reintroduction of hanging.

The internet specialist and member of the North West Leeds Conservative Association is on a list of approved Conservative candidates waiting for a seat and claims his long-term ambition is to become prime minister.

He spoke in an ad hoc slot just before shadow home secretary Oliver Letwin's planned speech on 'Real neighbourhood policing in Britain' and called for a return to hanging, corporal punishment, the castration of paedophiles, the reintroduction of birching "for young tearaways that terrorise council estates and vandalise graveyards" and a harsher life for those locked up in prison.

Despite Conservative efforts to appear less radical, Metcalfe said his views were all about "a balanced approach", but he certainly raised the roof at the conference hall in Blackpool.

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